HRT team principal Colin Kolles says that the team is "in a much better position" than it was at the start of the season.

Having failed to get its new car out on track during any of the pre-season tests HRT failed to qualify for the Australian Grand Prix. It has qualified for every race since, however, and in India outqualified both Virgins before Narain Karthikeyan finished just half a second behind Jerome d'Ambrosio in the race.

Kolles said that HRT would be looking to continue its progress in Abu Dhabi, and he hoped to see the team improving further until the end of the season.

"I am sure that we will see an interesting grand prix," Kolles said. "The team's performance has improved throughout the season and the last races have been particularly positive for us. We certainly are in a much better position than we were eight months ago and I hope that we will continue this way until the end."

Tonio Liuzzi will be back racing in Abu Dhabi after stepping aside for Karthikeyan in India, and he said the pace shown by the team was encouraging.

"After lending my car to Narain for the Indian Grand Prix, I'm really looking forward to getting back into the action in Abu Dhabi. I'm positive coming into it because in India the car appeared to suit the track well and our pace was good in comparison to our rivals."